Tennessee Farmer Humbled by Support Following December Tornado

Residents in eight states are still picking up following what's now been deemed the deadliest December tornado in history. While much of the focus has been on the town of Mayfield, Ky., the work is no less daunting at farms up the road.

In Cool Springs, Tenn., farmer Chris Minton is sorting through a tangled mess.

combine damaged in tornado"I had a farm shop sitting right back here where this remaining equipment is still sitting," Minton says, pointing across his farm. "We're trying to get it dragged out so the people can assess it for insurance purposes."

Much of his farm equipment was severely damaged in the storm as it sat in the shop. The building, rated for 120 miles per hour winds, is now lying in pieces — some things were scattered as much as two to three-tenths of a mile away.

"You know, the concrete footings and metal beams are just mangled," he says. "I don't know how strong the winds were, but it was way over 120."

 

The farmhouse where he grew up, originally built in 1927, is also damaged. Minton believes it's likely to be a complete loss. Thankfully nobody was at the farm when the tornado touched down that night. Chris lives a few miles away. His mother was gone visiting family.

After the storm blew through, Minton met a friend and fellow farmer at the farm.

"We looked at each other and looked at this and said, ‘You know what, we've got to start walking," he recounts. "We've got to check our neighbors because after seeing this in the pitch-black dark, I had no clue what any of the rest of this stuff looked like."

Concern for neighbors was his first thought and now it's neighbors who are helping him find a way forward.

home damaged in tornado"It's been overwhelming," Minton says. "The amount of people and the manpower that has helped me get as far as we are today, we're very blessed to have that kind of support."

The future is uncertain, as he tries to sort through the damaged equipment and determine what he has left.

"I'm just trying to figure out what some of the best options are on some of this equipment as far as repairing some of it," Minton says. "Some of it's going to be totaled and then, I guess I'll go to farm sales and start trying to piece back together and repair what we can. Hopefully, we can get parts because, as we all know right now, that's a pretty tough thing to do."

Even in the midst of the uncertainty, he can still appreciate what is still here.

"I'm just thankful all of my family and my neighbors are alright," Minton says. "We're just all thankful to still be here and walking on top of the ground."
 

 

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